Progress 06/01/17 to 01/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Ph I of this project was completed back in 2018 or so. We are now on the Ph II, but the reporting portal is not open for the Ph II
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Progress 06/01/16 to 05/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:The inability to capture male fish remains a problem. All efforts are continuing to capture a male fish. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Future progress depends on capturing one or more male fish. We have cooperating fishers attempting to bring in a male fish but there have been very few mahi mahi in the Kona area. There is still a $2000 reward for a male brought into the research site. Our staff is also fishing for more broodstock and dip netting for juveniles. Once the broodstock starts mating the breeding program will begin.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
ANNUAL REPORT FOR YEAR 2 Genetic Analysis One of the first goals of the project was to confirm that this species of Mahi Mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) had sex chromosomes similar to the other species ( C. equiselis). The genetic testing requires fresh fish blood and a laboratory capable of carrying out this work. Our cooperating laboratory is in Canada and it was not possible to get fish blood delivered fast enough to carry out the work. This issue was solved by cooperating with Dr Wagner Franco Molina of the Federal University of Rio Grande Do Norte in Brazil. His lab and staff carried out the original work with C. equiselis demonstrating male and female chromosomes. They we able to get fresh blood samples from local specimens of C. hippurus and run the genetic testing in their lab. They were successful confirming that both species had similar male and female sex chromosomes. "The data obtained therefore indicate a male sex determination to C. hippurus, confirmed by the presence of a conspicuous system of multiple sex chromosomes system X1X1X2X2/X1X2Y. This species exhibits bimodal diploid values in relation to sex. Females characteristically display 48 chromosomes, while males exhibit 47 chromosomes." This is a critical discovery and will allow us to proceed with the hormone treatment aspects of the program. FISH PROCUREMENT Two juvenile (4 cm) mahi mahi were captured by netting offshore. One thrived in the tanks but the second fish died. It ended up both fish were C. equiselis. The fish that died was shown to a mature female even though it was only about 10 cm in length. A local fisher caught three larger individuals of this species but they died in transport. The remaining live fish was not the target species so it was donated to a public aquarium. C. hippurus were again relatively rare near Kona during the year. A local fisher did catch 3 juvenile fish about 1.5 kg each which were successfully moved to a large 7 m diameter holding tank. One perished but it was revealed to be a mature female. One other fish was caught and successfully moved to the tank with the others by company staff. All three of these broodstock ended up to be females and started spawning unfertilized eggs regularly. One male fish (0.8 M.) was caught but died in transit. There was one flush of mahi migrating through Kona when the juveniles were caught but since then they have become rare again. The reward to the local fishers has increased to $2000 but still we have had no responses. The fishing effort will continue and it is only a matter of time until we bring in a male. One juvenile fish was captured (1.5 cm.) and is growing well in the tank. It will be some time before sex is known. With the females already spawning we expect fertilized spawns to start quickly once a male is obtained. We expected that we would be able to import small juveniles from Dr. Benetti's lab in Florida. We applied for and obtained and import permit for Hawaii, but the sponsors of the work there would not approve their export. Possibly that situation could change but for now we are reliant on locally caught fish. Hatchery Improvements A great deal of effort has been gone into improvements of a dedicated hatchery. A complete rotifer section has been installed and has been stocked. Four larval tanks have been installed with filtered and UV sterilized water. Artemia hatching and cleaning stations have been built and refrigerated storage banks for constant delivery of live feeds are operational. In addition the attached laboratory has been refurbished and improved. Rotifer System Larval Rearing Area Hatchery Laboratory FUTURE A no-cost extension for another year was approved and will continue the work until at least 1/31/2018.
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Progress 06/01/15 to 05/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Specialized holding tanks for broodstock fish have been set up. Spawning and larval rearing materials and tanks have been set up. Live feeds propagation tanks and materials have been set up. Fishing for Mahi Mahi has started both on the East and West side of the Big Island. This has been a very poor year for Mahi Mahi around the Big Island and in spite of rewards posted for local fishermen and several West side charters, adult fish have not been obtained. Efforts to dip net juvenile from current lines were initially successful, but they did not survive very long in captivity. Two juvenile C. equiselis were provided by a local fisher and one remains in culture and has grown to about 20 cm. A charter was hired on the East coast when a school migrated through. One female was caught and transported to a holding facility at the University of Hawaii, Hilo and held overnight. It was trucked to the Kona site the next day and stocked into the brood tank. It died of transport stress the same day. Further fishing by K.F. staff and other fishers yielded several large adults (>40 lbs) but these died soon after capture and were not able to be transported back to the hatchery. Arrangements for importing Mahi Mahi eggs from the University of Miami and a commercial aquarium fish company in Florida are being organized. Application for importing live Mahi Mahi from these Florida entities have been submitted to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. Alternative grow-out options at Virginia Tech are being explored. Arrangements are being made with staff at the University Lazoa Nova in Brazil to catch fish and carry out karyotyping male and female C. hippurus there. Changes/Problems:The problem associated with a poor mahi mahi fishing in the area this year has caused a delay in establishing a broodstock in Kona. A no-cost extension will allow the extra time to accomplish this primary goal and the subsequent tasks and goals. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training of company staff in catching and transporting live Mahi Mahi is ongoing. Holding, feeding, gathering feeding and growth data, and maintaining live Mahi Mahi is ongoing. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We expect to obtain live broodstock at the Kona site and begin spawning and larval rearing. This will allow developmental observations of the germ plasm in the developing larvae and determine the appropriate time to apply hormone treatments to achieve the desired genetic strains to achieve an all-male population of progeny. The hormonal treatments of the subsequent larvae will establish the effectiveness of this approach. In addition the cold shock treatments of the early stage eggs will determine the effectiveness of obtaining all-male offspring by this method.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Due to the delays in obtaining live broodstock on site a no-cost extension was approved until 1/31/17 and we expect to complete the main objectives of the project by then. The basis of the genetic aspects of the breeding program should be achieved with the cooperation of the Brizilian cooperators within the next two months. Specialized holding tanks for broodstock fish have been set up. Spawning and larval rearing materials and tanks have been set up. Live feeds propagation tanks and materials have been set up. Fishing for Mahi Mahi has started both on the East and West side of the Big Island. This has been a very poor year for Mahi Mahi around the Big Island and in spite of rewards posted for local fishermen and several West side charters, adult fish have not been obtained. Efforts to dip net juvenile from current lines were initially successful, but they did not survive very long in captivity. Two juvenile C. equiselis were provided by a local fisher and one remains in culture and has grown to about 20 cm. A charter was hired on the East coast when a school migrated through. One female was caught and transported to a holding facility at the University of Hawaii, Hilo and held overnight. It was trucked to the Kona site the next day and stocked into the brood tank. It died of transport stress the same day. Further fishing by K.F. staff and other fishers yielded several large adults (>40 lbs) but these died soon after capture and were not able to be transported back to the hatchery. Arrangements for importing Mahi Mahi eggs from the University of Miami and a commercial aquarium fish company in Florida are being organized. Application for importing live Mahi Mahi from these Florida entities have been submitted to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. Alternative grow-out options at Virginia Tech are being explored. Arrangements are being made with staff at the University Lazoa Nova in Brazil to catch fish and carry out karyotyping male and female C. hippurus there.
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